Effects of Resistance Training on Vascular and Hemodynamic Responses to Standardized Workloads in Coronary Patients

Abstract

PURPOSE: To determine the impact of superimposed resistance training (RT) in aerobically trained coronary patients on systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE; 6-20 scale), and rate pressure product (RPP) at fixed submaximal workloads following a 12-week RT intervention. Additionally, pre and post RT measures of brachial artery reactivity, an index of endothelial function, were obtained. METHODS: Fifteen low risk coronary patients (13 men, 2 women; mean ± SD age = 66.1 ± 5.1yrs) completed a progressive 12-week RT program that complemented their regular aerobic training regimen. Prior to training, SBP, HR, RPP, and RPE were obtained while subjects performed 1 set (10 repetitions) of 3 different exercises (bicep curl [BC], shoulder press [SP], leg press [LP]) at an intensity ~ 60-80% of 1-repetition maximum. After the training period, testing was repeated while subjects lifted the identical pre-training loads for each exercise following a standardized protocol. Vascular function was assessed by flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) testing prior to and immediately following the 12-week RT training intervention. RESULTS: Lifting the same pre-training loads evoked attenuated responses for all variables (HR, SBP, RPE, RPP). A statistically significant decrease was shown for RPP ([HR x SBP]/100) during BC (106 ± 27 to 91 ± 22, P < 0.007) and SP (102 ± 24 to 86 ± 17, P < 0.007), whereas the RPP decrease during LP (116±22 to 109 ± 26) did not achieve statistical significance (P = 0.18). RPE for all 3 exercises decreased significantly (P < 0.0001) following the RT intervention: BC (14.3 ± 2.3 to 9.7 ± 1.6), SP (13.9 ± 1.6 to 9.2 ± 1.5), LP (14.3 ± 1.4 to 10.3 ± 1.6). Pre versus post RT measurements for resting HR and resting SBP were unchanged. Peak FMD responses for the 15 subjects were 12.8% and 10.3% dilation pre- and post-training, respectively (P = 0.332). However, 5 of the 15 subjects showed modest improvements in their post-training time to achieve maximum dilation from a mean of 117 seconds to 81 seconds (P = 0.156). CONCLUSION: Among aerobically trained coronary patients, a superimposed resistance training program resulted in decreased hemodynamic and RPE responses to lifting fixed submaximal workloads and improved FMD responses in 5 of the 15 participants.